"Then to my utter amazement, he told me he hated me. And he then banged the phone down. Imagine! To me, his mother!"

Ms Farebrother told the newspaper at the time that she had never met her grandsons Zachary and Elijah, who Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish fathered through IVF with an American surrogate mother.

For her 90th birthday, Ms Farebrother hired an Elton John tribute act to perform.

Her son got in touch soon after, sending her white orchids to celebrate the milestone.